Sires Lines - Haflingers
There are seven major sire lines found in the Haflinger breed, which are
identified by the first letter of their founder's name. It is customary for male
Haflingers to be given a name that starts with the same letter as their sire,
therefore making it easy to identify the sire line of a given stallion. The
lines are A, B, M, N, S, St, and W.

According to stud book studies in 1988, of the 1,300 Haflinger stallions
worldwide the percentages of each line are as follows:

Anselmo (A) - 304 stallions - 23%

Bolzano (B) - 38 stallions - 3%

Massimo (M) - 236 stallions - 18%

Nibbio (N) - 313 stallions - 23%

Stelvio (S) - 37 stallions - 3%

Student (St) - 297 stallions - 22%

Willi (W) - 114 stallions - 8%

The A-Line
The A-line was founded by the stallion Anselmo, who was by Campi II x Napoli by
Campi, making him the closest descendent of Folie of all the patriarchs. His
line is second only to the N-line in numbers of breeding stallions, and is
strongly represented in all countries with Haflinger breeding programs. Many
consider this line to be the source of the highest quality breeding animals.

Anselmo himself was considered somewhat coarse, with long ears (a serious
fault to Austrian breeders). Nonetheless, four of his sons proved to be
successful sires: Atlas, Alex, Attila and Adler. Of these, the line is continued
through Artist, a grandson of Adler. Artist, when bred to the mare Jeruse (also
by Adler) produced Afghan (1969) - the greatest of modern Haflinger sires.
Sadly, Afghan died at the young age of ten of a broken leg.

The B-Line
The B-line was founded by Botzano (1915). By 1965, the line was in serious
danger of being lost to the breed, and an attempt was made to salvage using
Bozen, one of the few B-line sires left. His grandson, Becket (out of a mare by
Anselmo), would sire Brutus in 1976. Brutus was considered the first quality
stallion bred from that line since its decline. However, when his most promising
son Benjo (1980) died after three short breeding seasons, the line was again
threatened. Currently attempts are being made to save it using the stallions
Bach and Berthol (both sire by a half-brother to Becket). The United
States now has one Silver Classified "B" line stallion and there are more being
tested to increase this rare line.

The M-Line
The M-line was founded with the stallion Massimo (1927). He sired six sons
through which most M-line stallions descend. Of these, Nilo was probably the one
most responsible for the continued influence of the line. Although Nilo himself
was not an attractive horse, he consistently sired foals far superior to
himself. Nilo's sons were responsible for adding fineness and nobility, as well
as broadening the genetic base of the breed. Most M-line stallions trace back to
Nilo through his son Sturmer (who also heavily influenced the A-line through his
daughters), with the remainder tracing through the stallions Mordskerl and
Meteor.

Some have stated that the M-line was in danger of stagnating. The largest
number of M-line horses (most descending through Sturmer) reside in the United
States, which does not practice the strict selection process common in Germany
and other European countries. Dire predictions have been made concerning the
future of this branch if proper selection is not practiced.

Of the remaining two branches, that of Meteor is mostly continued in
Italy, and is considered to be of slightly higher quality. But it is the
Mordeskeri line that show the most promise through his great-great grandson
Midas (1977). Midas caused quite a sensation at the Second International
Haflinger Breeders' Show in 1985, where 20 of his daughters and 12 of his sons
were displayed.

[Note: Because many M-line stallions were bred in Italy, where stallion of
a given year are all named by the same letter, not all have names that begin
with M.]

The N-Line
The founder of the N-line was a stallion named Nibbio (1920). By the 1940s, the
line had split into two branches - that of Naz in Germany and Austria, and
Nautilus in Italy. The Naz line was primarily continued through two full
brothers, Nastor (1951) and Nerz (1953). Another Naz son, Naxo (1952) would be
responsible for introducing the N-line to the United States. Meanwhile, in Italy
the Nautilus line would continue primarily through three sons: Genius, Hofrat
and Hafling. (Remember that in Italy stallions are named according to the letter
designated for the year they were foaled, instead of by the first letter of
their sire's name.)

The N-line is one of the most prolific of all the Haflinger lines,
represented by over 300 stallions worldwide. Of those stallions, 250 are found
in either Germany or Italy.

The S-Line
The S-line, begun in 1923 with the stallion Stelvio, has long been considered
the weakest of the seven sire lines. It is thought that to bring the line up to
an equal level of quality with the other sire lines at this point would require
a great deal of time and expense. Those stallions remaining of the S-line are
located primarily in Italy and descend through the stallion Santner and his son
Sandhofer. In the 1960s, an attempt was made to build up this line in Austria
with the purchase of the stallion Saturn (1964). His grandson Silbersee (1972)
was considered quite promising, but was sold in 1987 to France where he was used
to outcross on non-Haflinger stock. As of 1988, there were no known S-line
stallions in the United States. Now there are a few. Socrates (now
deceased) was recognized by the world judges as a Silver classified stallion his
sire Schonbin Honig produced three strong sons. Samurai of Green
Mountains, Socrates and Ski Doo. Currently there is one "s" line stallion
who is world recognized imported into Oregon at Wing Spann Farms. (Serpico).
He has been gelded but his semen is frozen and available. Sky's the Limit
WSF is now standing at our farm and is by the Austrian sire Skorpion.

The St-Line
The St-line was founded by the highly regarded stallion Student (1927). Student
was considered extremely typey and a proponent sire. His line is close to the
Anselmo and Nibbio lines in terms of number and influence.

Most of the St-line stallions descend through the Student son Stromer.
Stromer was Austrian-born, but was eventually sold to Italy and there his line
was allowed to die out. Stromer's grandsons Starost and Sturm have continued the
line in Switzerland, while Star is responsible for most of the St-line stallions
in the United States. In fact, the United States currently has the most St-line
stallions of any country, with one of the large American farms (Temple Farms -
no dispersed) specializing in this line. Sons of Star that influenced American
breeding programs include Easter Sunday and his sons Stardraft (1975) and
Strahan (1974), Starwonder and his sons Stogey (1973) and State (1975) and also
his grandson Stanley (by Spirit of 76).

In Austria, the line continued through Stromer grandson Sturmer. Although
Sturmer died relatively young at eight years of age, three of his sons were kept
as breeding stallions. Another line descends from Strom (1949 - a son of Stromer).

The United States has some excellent ST stallions. Stars N
Stripes TOF (stands at Tudor Oaks Farm) Standard of Excellence and his son
Stelaka PHHF, and Stellar TVR son of Straden. Stately LF son of Stubben
NTF

The W-Line
The final Haflinger sire line was established by the stallion Willi (1921).
Unfortunately, Willi produced far more daughters than sons - 23 versus 196. Of
his sons, four were kept for breeding. Of these four, one died after only two
breeding seasons, while a second was placed in a breeding region with low
quality mares and a third - Willi I - was exported to Syria. his line was
continued briefly by Wilfried through his son Wieland. Although Wieland was
considered an exceptionally beautiful stallion, his dam was unpedigreed and this
caused many breeders to avoid him.

Willi's fourth son was Wardein, and he had the exception maternal pedigree
that Wieland lacked. Although his breeding career got off to a late start (in
1958, when he was already 20 years old!), he become known for producing
energetic animals with extremely correct movement.

Wardein's sons and grandsons would spread the line to other countries. His
son Winchester (1957) went to Germany, where he produced several promising sons.
Austria kept sons Wilton and Wirbel. Wilton would bring the line to Italy
through his grandson Sigrid did Faltering, as well as having a great deal of
positive influence on the line in Austria. His descendent Wagering (1980) is
considered an excellent example of this sire line.

Another strain tracing back to Willi is that of his grandson Welcome.
Welcome is a popular breeding stallion in the Netherlands, although he is
considered too coarse by many Austrian breeders. Many of the W-line stallions in
the United States and Canada trace to Welkom through his son Wandor (1973). More
recently, an American breeder imported a son of Winterstein, (Walzertakt) a popular Austrian
stallion that traces back to Willi through the Wardein branch. The
influence of Walzertakt in the US lead to 3 recognized classified sons who help
make the W line strong. One of these stallions is World Class who stands
here at Top of the Line Farms.